Ordering from a local restaurant online – JUST EAT and Peachykeens

How do you order your takeaways? Do you nudge your partner off the sofa with a pleading look and alluring promises of finding a film to watch while they get curry? Do you leaf through takeaway leaflets dropped through doors and then call the first to take your fancy, reeling off an often-rehearsed, ill-timed, half-rhymed request: 21, 32, pilau rice, korma with a little more spice? Or are you, like me, an online order kind of person?

Last week, we tried out using the JUST EAT website to order from a local takeaway. Here’s what happened.

Late afternoon, I placed an order with Peachykeens – a central Nottingham-based takeaway we hadn’t used before. Using the site was straightforward – we put in our postcode, used the dropdown menu to narrow the outlet choices by type of food (Thai) and then chose a restaraunt with attractive sounding Chinese and Thai-style dishes. We requested that our order be delivered at 7pm. Sadly, the order didn’t appear until 7.35pm but the delivery driver was apologetic.

My ‘Thai Cashew Nuts & Peppers’ dish wasn’t terribly attractive and not really what I’d describe as Thai – it lacked heat and there was no delicacy in the flavours, which is what I love about Thai food generally. The sauce was syrupy and a bit greasy, which isn’t really my thing, but it’s pretty standard for takeaway fodder, to be fair. On the plus side, the vegetables were plentiful, tasted fresh and weren’t over cooked. There were also plenty of cashew nuts – I’ve had cashew dishes before with no more than two nuts in the whole tub, so this made a refreshing change.

My steamed rice was well cooked – not too tough, not too stodgy.

Mark’s ‘Sweet & Sour Beef’ was pretty much as expected, although the sauce was syrupy and a far cry from authentic Chinese cooking. However, Mark said it was very nice indeed, which I guess tells me a Friday night takeaway is no place for food snobbery!

Mark’s egg fried rice contained peas and green beans, among other things – that wouldn’t bother me in the slightest but he’s not keen on either, so he spent a little time picking the bits out. Again, not really a problem but the contents wasn’t mentioned on the JUST EAT listing – maybe it’s mentioned on their printed brochure.

The ‘Singapore noodle’ dish was described on JUST EAT as “stir-fried rice vermicelli seasoned with curry powder, beansprouts, pak choi, soy sauce, & sliced chillies or peppers” but what actually arrived was egg-fried, tumeric/curry flavoured vermicelli and onions. It was really nice, just not at all what we were expecting.

We ordered a couple of bottles of Diet Coke, but the Cokes that arrived were both standard, full-fat Coke – an easy mistake to make and we weren’t too fussed since takeaway night is no time to worry about calories.

Overall, I’d say JUST EAT is a perfectly convenient way to order takeaway if you’re in a hurry or just hate doing it by phone, however, you do take a certain risk in not being able to talk to someone to get more detail on your order.

Disclosure: we were sent a voucher from JUST EAT to make an order for review. No payment was received. All posts are 100% honest.